NYT editorial: Leon Panetta, Not a Company Man

Not a Company Man
Published: January 9, 2009

There has been some grousing in Washington (and a lot more across the river in Langley) about how Leon Panetta, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, is not an intelligence insider. As far as we’re concerned, that’s not Mr. Panetta’s only qualification for the job, but it is certainly on the list.

We’ve seen what some top company men have been willing to go along with during the Bush-Cheney years: secret prisons beyond the reach of American law and all conscience; torture, abuse and degradation of prisoners; renditions for torture on an outsource basis; made-for-the-Sunday-news-shows intelligence reports. Mr. Obama has pledged to end all of that. On Friday, he declared that “under my administration, the United States does not torture.” Earlier in the week, as he defended his choice of Mr. Panetta, he pointedly said his new team would ensure that he is told the truth rather than “what they think the president wants to hear.”

For any intelligence professional committed to his craft, and the nation’s security, that should be a relief. Instead, the reaction from at least some to the choice of Mr. Panetta — a longtime Washington player who has criticized President Bush’s counterterrorism tactics — was, sadly, predictably defensive....

The C.I.A. needs a director strong enough to demand a full accounting of the misdeeds of the last eight years. Such an accounting, which should be as public as possible, is the only way to ensure that abuses stop. The agency needs a director who can make clear that banning torture and other abusive practices — which simply don’t work — are essential for keeping the nation safe and restoring its reputation....To continue to do its essential work, the C.I.A. will also need a director with the president’s complete support, who knows Congress and is prepared to staunchly defend the many honest and courageous professionals who have simmered and suffered for the last eight years.

Is Mr. Panetta the right man? His résumé suggests that he is smart, and smart in the ways of Washington. Eight terms as a Democratic congressman. Head of the Office of Management and Budget. A strong-minded chief of staff in Bill Clinton’s famously chaotic White House. Member of the sensible Iraq Study Group. In a column last year for The Monterey County Herald, Mr. Panetta wrote: “Torture is illegal, immoral, dangerous, and counterproductive. And yet, the president is using fear to trump the law.” He also rejected Mr. Bush’s illegal, warrantless eavesdropping on Americans....

Mr. Panetta and Admiral Dennis Blair — Mr. Obama’s pick to be director of national intelligence — will have to decide whether the post-9/11 reorganization makes sense or has just added another layer of bureaucracy. Mr. Panetta may not be an intelligence professional, but he is honest and sensible and not easily cowed. Those sound like good credentials for a very hard job.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/opinion/10sat1.html